The MP for Melbourne Ports, an electorate with a large Jewish population, has long been outspoken in his defence of Israel and previously defended the advertisements criticising ABC journalist Sophie McNeill, saying he had spent a "small amount".

In its advice to Mr Danby on the first request, the Department of Finance said it complied with the rules, which required the spending be on "parliamentary or electorate purposes", but warned he might "need to publicly justify and defend the item if required".

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Michael Danby at a Melbourne rally in support of Israel.Credit:Chris Hopkins

In the material, Mr Danby attacked McNeill for "double standards" in her reporting and leading Australians to "have a distorted understanding of that part of the world".

In the first advertisement, he accused her of giving generous coverage to the eviction of a Palestinian family from their East Jerusalem home but ignoring the murder of three Jewish settlers by a Palestinian.